Here is a story that really makes you wonder:
An unusual FBI raid of a Democratic congressman’s office over the weekend prompted complaints yesterday from leaders in both parties, who said the tactic was unduly aggressive and may have breached the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), who is at the center of a 14-month investigation for allegedly accepting bribes for promoting business ventures in Africa, also held a news conference in which he denied any wrongdoing and denounced the raid on his office as an “outrageous intrusion.” Jefferson, who has not been charged with a crime, vowed to seek reelection in November.
“There are two sides to every story; there are certainly two sides to this story,” Jefferson said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “There will be an appropriate time and forum when that can be explained.”
The Saturday raid of Jefferson’s quarters in the Rayburn House Office Building posed a new political dilemma for the leaders of both parties, who felt compelled to protest his treatment while condemning any wrongdoing by the lawmaker. The dilemma was complicated by new details contained in an 83-page affidavit unsealed on Sunday, including allegations that the FBI had videotaped Jefferson taking $100,000 in bribe money and then found $90,000 of that cash stuffed inside his apartment freezer.
That is not the interesting part. What is interesting is how both parties are responding to this raid:
Republican leaders, who previously sought to focus attention on the Jefferson case as a counterpoint to their party’s own ethical scandals, said they are disturbed by the raid. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said that he is “very concerned” about the incident and that Senate and House counsels will review it.
House Speaker L. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) expressed alarm at the raid. “The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important Constitutional issues that go well beyond the specifics of this case,” Hastert said in a lengthy statement released last night.
“Insofar as I am aware, since the founding of our Republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this Separation of Powers line, in order to successfully prosecute corruption by Members of Congress,” he said. “Nothing I have learned in the last 48 hours leads me to believe that there was any necessity to change the precedent established over those 219 years.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that “members of Congress must obey the law and cooperate fully with any criminal investigation” but that “Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with Constitutional protections and historical precedent.”
If Jefferson did break the law then send him to jail. If the Justice Department broke the law by conducting an illegal raid that would let a possible criminal stay in Congress then Gonzales must be held accountable. No one can tell me that Gonzales was not directly involved in the decision to make this raid and he has proven time and time again he has no respect for the Constitution of the United States, much the same as his boss George Bush.